Chess Tactics in Chess.com

Boy, this is the worst most depressing tactical exercises I have ever done. When my subscription up this will come into consideration

How can u deduct 10 over points for a correctly solved puzzle n only reward 1 to 3 point for a puzzled solved fast. This sucks!!

I'm pretty sure time is taken into consideration, and that a correctly solved problem solved to slow can result in a deduction of rating points.  This is because the average time to solve is the benchmark against which you're being measured, and against which the problem itself is rated.

The question you may want to ask yourself is, rating adjustments aside, are you learning from the problems?  Are they helping to improve your board vision and your game?  If so, what's the sense in getting too worked up over what your tactics rating is?  If losing a couple of rating points on a tactics puzzle ultimately helps you gain strength in your regular games isn't that a win?

Could the programmers and staff just get rid of the timing component?

I'm using an app for the droid called Chess Puzzles by Yan Levesque and there is no punishment for time. Take as much time as you want. It's way more fun and useful for learning. The timed problems are too stressful and frustrating. I haven't used the tactics trainer on this site though. In the past, I'd used the emrald chess tactics server, which was timed and it was very frustrating to lose points on time, even if you solved the puzzle. I assume it's similar here at chess.com.

You can get rid of the timing component if you choose to do the tactics unrated:

http://www.chess.com/tactics/settings

Looks like you can even reset your rating and history if you want.

I think being timed is good, the problem is, there isn't enough time. There needs to be another solid minute or two before you start to lose points for solving the problem...

I'm pretty sure the time alotted is based on the time it took other players to solve the problem -- just as the rating of the problem is based on the ratings of the other players who solved/failed to solve the problem.

Since the problems all get their ratings adjusted just as the players do, the whole thing works out quite well.

Really? That would surprise me. It seems like the time is very short on every problem, and I often see the "average solving time" in the several minutes.

I agree, it's somewhat messed up.

Take a three-move problem for example.  Suppose you determine the first two moves correctly and quickly, but you are unsure of the next move.  What should you do?

Thinking too long could score as little as 20% for a correct move (or ~13.3% for a wrong move).  Whereas, even a wrong move made quickly could score up to ~66.6% for the overall puzzle.

I don't see why this is a problem.  Time managemnet being an integral part of the game, efficiency is as important as efficacy.

    "Time managemnet being an integral part of the game, efficiency is as important as efficacy."

Very well said.  But the point is that the tactics trainer comparatively rewards efficiency over efficacy.

I can make two correct moves quickly, then make a terrible third move, quickly, and get 66% credit.  Or take a minute or two to find the best third move, and score as low as 20%.

In what way is making two correct moves and one quick blunder, more "efficient" than making two correct moves, and spending 90 seconds to make a correct third move?

As chess_gg said, Tactics Trainer feels more akin to looking for tactics in a blitz game, than a slow game. Me no likey. I still like TT, but feel it would help people improve a little more if it didn't feel so rushed. Tactics training should be about taking your time and learning the patterns. I put it on unrated sometimes so that I'm not going against the timer.

chess_gg, DrCheck -- good point.  It does sort of feel like "blitz" timed tactics training.

In spite of certain shortcomings, I also still use and like TT.

I believe tactic trainer wants you to put you in a position of playing an actual game when you don't have much time.

I've had the same problem.  I've gotten as high as 1900 and now i'm back down to about 1550.  For some reason its only giving me 5-8 points for each puzzle solved but deducting 10-13 every time I fail one, sometimes deducting as many as 20 points.  There's gotta be some sort of formula for it.  I think it takes into consideration your previous rating.  In my case since I was as high as 1900 it takes away more points if you I 1400 strength problems.

forget ratings- enjoy solving the position. You may run into a simular one in a game.

mattyf9 -- that's true.  The higher your rating, the more it deducts if you miss a problem.

There's a formula for the thing.  I don't know exactly what it is, but I don't think it's a "problem."  It just means that it's hard to scale that mountain.

The highest I ever got on "Tactics Trainer" mountain, was 1269.  If I can keep it up above 1,200 -- for me that's good.

Before you become enamored with CT, read the following excerpt from their user guide:

Duplicate Problem Rating Adjustment

To help reduce the impact on the rating system of users seeing problems multiple times, a reduction in the reward for successful attempts on problems that have been seen before has been implemented.

The current reductions are:

1st Repeat - 70% of full credit

2nd Repeat - 55% of full credit

3rd Repeat - 45% of full credit

4th Repeat - 35% of full credit

5th Repeat - 25% of full credit

6th and subsequent Repeats - 15% of full credit

There are also time decay adjustments made if the user has not seen the problem for a long time. So problems not seen for least 6 months receive a minimum of 45% of full credit, irrespective of how many times they were solved in the past. Similarly, problems not seen for a year are given 75% of full credit, no matter how many times they had been seen previously.

    "I gave you guys the answer but you'd rather talk than listen."

Hint: chess tempo.  Chess tempo!  Chess tempo.  If only we had listened.

Hey I take it back.  That was obnoxious of me.  I do listen to what others write in these forums.  And I do appreciate the hint, hint, reference to perhaps a site on the internet, which shall remain nameless.  (And if people can't figure it out from your hint, then they are even dumber than I am.)

    "Tell no one."

:) funny!